Wayne Rooney agent accused over £4m non-payments

Wayne Rooney’s agent, Paul Stretford (back), watching a game with Rooney’s father, also Wayne. The agent is being sued for £4.3m in alleged unpaid payments to his former company. Photograph: Nick Potts/PA

Wayne Rooney's agent used "absurd and unmeritorious" arguments to try to get the Manchester United forward out of paying more than £4m to his former management company, a court heard today.

The hearing, which is due to hear evidence from the England striker and his wife, Coleen, next week, was told the couple left Proactive Sports Management in October 2008 when their long-term agent, Paul Stretford, departed to set up his own company.

Proactive is suing the Rooneys for what it claims is commission from lucrative contracts between the footballer and companies such as Nike, Coca-Cola and EA games. The couple are alleged to have withheld payments after Stretford, who founded Proactive 20 years ago, left acrimoniously, taking Rooney and his wife with him.

Stretford had refused to authorise commission payments amounting to £4.3m over the last 15 months over contracts signed when Rooney was still with the company, Ian Mill QC, acting for Proactive, told Manchester mercantile court.

Instead, Mill said, Stretford had "constructed a series of absurd and unmeritorious justifications" for non-payment, including that contracts were signed "by mistake" and that commissions had already been paid.

"If one believes the quotes attributed in the press, it appears Mr and Mrs Rooney regard these charges against them as exploitative and financially driven. These are the quotations that appear in a number of national newspapers," he said.

"If by 'financially driven', they mean the claimant wishes to recover the substantial sums due to it, I would respectfully agree, but it is hardly a ground for complaint or for criticism. We simply don't understand how this can be their view."

He added: "I would respectfully suggest if there is any exploitation, it is the exploitation of the Rooneys by Mr Stretford, who has used them to further his dispute with Proactive. In short, Proactive simply seeks the moneys to which it is contractually entitled."

Rooney, 24, has remained loyal to Stretford despite the agent being banned in May 2009 from working as a football agent for nine months and fined £300,000 by the Football Association after he was found guilty of improper conduct.

Mill said for almost six years, from July 2002, Stretford and Proactive had acted for Rooney "with great success".

Stretford also represented Coleen Rooney, helping secure her deals including her TV show, Real Women, a regular column in Closer magazine and sponsorships from Asda and Diet Coke, Mill said. These successes must be "equally attributed" to Proactive, he added.